Old Dominion K9 & Sumner County (TN) Emergency Management Presents:
2026 Fall K9 Seminar
October 4 through October 9
At Holiday Lake 4-H Camp, Appomattox, VA
Day(s)
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Hour(s)
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Minute(s)
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Second(s)
Training Options
Available K9 Disciplines include:
NOTE: ONLY ONE K9 PER HANDLER TO BE WORKED IN ATTENDANCE!
Trailing/Tracking
Area / Air Search
Land HRD
Water HRD
Training Highlights
- Actual field work will be the emphasis for the week. Rural, town, urban, wilderness, and water areas will be available.
- The Holiday Lake 4-H Camp, with 23,000 acres of adjoining forestland, will be excellent for those wishing to use their wilderness skills.
- There is a 100-acre lake located on the campgrounds that is available to use.
- At the campground there is a conference room, amphitheater, and cafeteria that are available for classroom training.
- Special guest speaker on Monday or Tuesday evening! (Speaker TBA)
Auction
On Wednesday evening, there will be a fun-filled and lively auction. The proceeds from this annual auction are first used to help cover the instructors’ gas and the remaining go into the funds for the seminar to help cover the cost of food and lodging at the camp. The more the board doesn’t have to dip into the seminar fund reserves, the more likely that registration costs won’t be raised, or possibly cheaper, for you next year! Will you help us keep the cost of the seminar down? If the answer is yes, then it is never too early to start looking for that unique auction item that everyone will want to bid on. Be sure to bring that item(s), along with your favorite drink, and help us celebrate and enjoy all the hard work and learning you’ve had at the seminar.
Seminar Merchandise
Starting at registration and going through the week, there will be plenty of opportunities to purchase your favorite seminar swag. The store products vary from year to year, but you can usually find T-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, and/or ballcaps. You never know what you’ll find from year-to-year. Come each year and find out!
When you stop by to peruse the goodies, please bring your agency/organization’s patch to add to the seminar’s quilt.
BECAUSE OF THE WIFI REMOTENESS, BALANCE DUE FROM YOUR AUCTION OR STORE PURCHASES MUST BE DONE IN EITHER CHECK, MONEY ORDER, or CASH.
Awards & Scholarship
No seminar is complete without acknowledging all the hard work and dedication that you and your K9 partner achieved together throughout the week. It is also a time to thank all our volunteers that were either out in the field or behind the scenes to help make this seminar a huge success. That’s why we will hold an award ceremony, along with a steak dinner, on Thursday evening.
During this ceremony, we will announce this year’s winners of both the Gilman Award and the Ronnie Venable Scholarship. Please visit the Gilman Award page and the Ronnie Venable Scholarship page (link to below) to learn more and to complete your nominations for this distinguished award and wonderful opportunity. Nominations are due by September 6, 2026.
Seminar Merchandise
Starting at registration and going through the week, there will be plenty of opportunities to purchase your favorite seminar swag. The store products vary from year to year, but you can usually find T-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, and/or ballcaps. You never know what you’ll find from year-to-year. Come each year and find out!
When you stop by to peruse the goodies, please bring your agency/organization’s patch to add to the seminar’s quilt.
BECAUSE OF THE WIFI REMOTENESS, BALANCE DUE FROM YOUR AUCTION OR STORE PURCHASES MUST BE DONE IN EITHER CHECK, MONEY ORDER, or CASH.
Awards & Scholarship
No seminar is complete without acknowledging all the hard work and dedication that you and your K9 partner achieved together throughout the week. It is also a time to thank all our volunteers that were either out in the field or behind the scenes to help make this seminar a huge success. That’s why we will hold an award ceremony, along with a steak dinner, on Thursday evening.
During this ceremony, we will announce this year’s winners of both the Gilman Award and the Ronnie Venable Scholarship. Please visit the Gilman Award page and the Ronnie Venable Scholarship page (link to below) to learn more and to complete your nominations for this distinguished award and wonderful opportunity. Nominations are due by September 7, 2025.
Emergency Information
Tell your loved ones that in case of an emergency while you are gone, they can reach you at one of these numbers:
Holiday Lake 4-H Camp/Education Center in Appomattox, VA at (434) 248-5444
Appomattox County Sheriff’s Department in extreme emergencies (434) 352-8241
How Old Dominion K9 Seminar Came to be
In 1986 Garland Gilman started Old Dominion Seminar as a way to honor his close friends Bill Tolhurst, Glenn Rimby, and Bill Keegy. Tolhurst, Rimby, and Keegy all had very long careers working hounds and passing along their collective knowledge to others including Garland who was a close friend of all three. Prior to Old Dominion, Garland helped in the creation of both Canine Search and Rescue (CSAR), which was created to hold seminars, and North American Search Dog Network (NASDN) which hosted the CSAR seminars as well as providing networking for other handlers. In addition to Garland, Tim and Suzy Perry were also original founding members of CSAR with Tim being the president for four years.
After Garland and the Perry’s left CSAR, that was when Garland established Old Dominion as a way to not only honor his close friendships and early learning at the hands of Tolhurst, Rimby, and Keegy, but to also create an avenue to share that information as well as his own personal experience after working hounds himself for many years. Garland, along with the Perry’s, believed (and still do) in the necessity to share knowledge and experience with not only new handlers, but to also keep challenging and expanding the skills of experienced handlers.
To this day, the Old Dominion Seminar is committed to bringing in knowledgeable handlers in their own discipline(s) to impart their wisdom and skills to the next generation of handlers. This seminar has become known as a wonderful and fun week of learning and networking just as Garland had envisioned all those years ago.
Thank you Garland and we vow to keep your vision alive and thriving.
How Old Dominion K9 Seminar Came to be
In 1986 Garland Gilman started Old Dominion Seminar as a way to honor his close friends Bill Tolhurst, Glenn Rimby, and Bill Keegy. Tolhurst, Rimby, and Keegy all had very long careers working hounds and passing along their collective knowledge to others including Garland who was a close friend of all three. Prior to Old Dominion, Garland helped in the creation of both Canine Search and Rescue (CSAR), which was created to hold seminars, and North American Search Dog Network (NASDN) which hosted the CSAR seminars as well as providing networking for other handlers. In addition to Garland, Tim and Suzy Perry were also original founding members of CSAR with Tim being the president for four years.
After Garland and the Perry’s left CSAR, that was when Garland established Old Dominion as a way to not only honor his close friendships and early learning at the hands of Tolhurst, Rimby, and Keegy, but to also create an avenue to share that information as well as his own personal experience after working hounds himself for many years. Garland, along with the Perry’s, believed (and still do) in the necessity to share knowledge and experience with not only new handlers, but to also keep challenging and expanding the skills of experienced handlers.
To this day, the Old Dominion Seminar is committed to bringing in knowledgeable handlers in their own discipline(s) to impart their wisdom and skills to the next generation of handlers. This seminar has become known as a wonderful and fun week of learning and networking just as Garland had envisioned all those years ago.
Thank you Garland and we vow to keep your vision alive and thriving.